Championing One With Another (COWA)
November 22, 2023
Diversity and Inclusion Series
Event Series
91 King Street East
The Albany Club
Opening time
6:00PM to 9:00 PM
Dinner Event
Event Type
OVERVIEW
Championing
one with another
Lawyers and Allies Paving the Way to Inclusion” is an event series organized by Blink Equity in partnership with ZSA Legal Recruitment.
The first event was held on November 22, 2023, at the Albany Club in Toronto. It served as a platform for legal professionals to discuss and promote inclusivity within the legal industry.
The gathering features panel discussions with thought leaders and key influencers who shared their insights on fostering a more inclusive legal environment.
Attendees can network, build relationships, and expand their professional circles. The event also highlights the importance of mentorship and the need to challenge lingering stereotypes in the legal field.
EVENT THEME
COWA is all about building a community of reciprocity and ongoing support.
Championing One With Another means actively supporting and advocating for each other. It’s about working together to help one another succeed, share ideas, and achieve common goals. This approach focuses on mutual support, public advocacy, and empowerment.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Community & Impact
Amongst the attendees were senior & junior & legal counsel; general counsel, private practice associates and partners, and public sector and private sector lawyers who came together to find out how they can do their part to advance inclusion in the legal industry.
SHARED HIGHLIGHTS
Albany Club:
A Legacy of Inclusivity
For the first event, the evening commenced with a panelist elucidating the profound history of the Albany Club. Dating back to the 1800s, it holds the distinction of being the first club to embrace diversity by welcoming both women and black individuals into its fold. This historical perspective set the stage for a night of thought-provoking discussions.
Overcoming Client
Trust Barriers
A compelling perspective emerged from the audience, suggesting that clients should place trust in lawyers from minority groups, acknowledging the resilience and qualifications that often exceed those of their peers. The sentiment was that people of colour often overcome substantial adversity and, as a result, bring unique qualifications to the table.
IDEA in Law Firms:
A Personal Touch
The panelists engaged in a discussion about IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) in law firms, with a poignant emphasis on representation. Qadira's perspective resonated strongly: diversity should extend beyond mere statistics; it should be about seeing lawyers who look like you, fostering a sense of connection and relatability.
Empowering
Sole Practitioners
Monica, drawing from personal experience, advocated for lawyers, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to consider becoming sole practitioners. The assertion was that clients increasingly seek diversity, and going solo, especially with an established client base, could be a strategic move.
Breaking Barriers in
Senior Positions
Kyle shared anecdotes highlighting a pervasive challenge in the legal profession — while diversity may exist at lower levels, significant barriers still impede progress to senior positions. To address this, there was a call to enhance mentorship programs, with the suggestion of providing billable credit to partners mentoring senior associates.
A Call for Collaboration
and Growth
Amidst these critical conversations, a heartening observation was the unity and willingness to collaborate. Attendees exchanged contact information, expressing a shared commitment to contribute to each other's growth. This spirit of cooperation underscored a collective desire to see everyone succeed and thrive in the legal profession.
NETWORKING
Purchasers of legal services, including heads of private equity firms, CFOs, and select folks like legal recruiters
were also invited to get perspective on what a client-driven leadership will look like.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
The Blink Equity
Score: Holding Firms Accountable
The discussion also touched upon the Blink Equity Score, a potential game-changer in promoting diversity. The Blink Score which is a racial diversity audit & ranking of law firms in Ontario that employ a complement of 50 lawyers. By using this score, firms can be held accountable, and clients can make informed decisions based on the diversity metrics of the firms they choose to engage with.
WHY PEOPLE ATTEND
Learn & Network
New People
Network . Conversate . Collaborate
People attend to network, hear about what is happening in DEI within the legal profession, be a part of the conversation, find collaboration opportunities, co-create or be a part of the proposed DEI in law solutions.
ATTENDEES
LAST YEAR’S EVENT COUNT WAS 88 ATTENDEES
The Audience is 20/80 Senior Leadership to Staff. That is, 20% of audience members are general counsel or senior legal counsel as well as partners at law firms whereas 80% of the attendees are associates and younger inhouse staff. The makeup between private practice and inhouse is 50/50. Attendance is open to all members of the legal community including members of the crown, the criminal bar, paralegals, administration and more.
EVENT THEME
Voices. Amplified. Empowered.
Panelists discussed what diversity, equity, and inclusion should look like in the legal profession, current barriers, and potential solutions from employer and employee standpoints. Blink Equity shared the intention to launch The Blink Score. Members of the audience actively participated in the discussion and were an extended part of the panel. But what’s happened since?
Career Advancement
Attendees got insights that actively empowered them in their current roles. Others reported that connections made helped them make career changes, get vertical and lateral promotions, and increase billable hours.
Publication of The
Blink Score
Since the first event in Fall of 2023, The Blink Score published its first iteration. The publication incorporated much of the feedback received from panelists and audience members. The publication has received a number of endorsements and is going through a consultation for future iterations. Blink Equity is actively working with strategic partners to increase the dissemination of the report.
Industry Collaborative
The Blink Score was published in partnership with the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto and ZSA legal recruitment. Other notable endorsements include the National GC Network, Air Canada, and Lawyers in House.
OUR PARTNERS
Event partners for our first series included The South Asian Bar Association, The Canadian Bar Association and ZSA Legal Recruitment. For the Bar Associations they were able to provide their members with a forum to connect on meaningful discussions and get to discover newer members.
Strategic objectives for an organization like ZSA Legal Recruitment included brand visibility and positioning on a topic that is very relevant to their clients.
